More than 100 pounds overweight, she suffered from the weight-related health problems that often accompany morbid obesity. She looked to Harper University Hospital for help and lost 102 pounds in less than a year.

In December of 2002, the young mother was more than 100 pounds overweight - considered morbidly obese by her physicians. She tried everything in hopes of losing the weight but nothing worked.

"I was worried about my children," Dana said. "I didn't want my daughter to feel being overweight was the way life had to be."

Dana knew it was a possibility since she'd followed in her own mother's footsteps. "When I was a kid, we used to have the Clean Plate Club at home," Dana said. "You always had to clean your plate and I just continued that way of eating when I grew up."

Michael H. Wood, M.D., performed the surgeries using the Sapala-Wood Micropouch™ process he and his colleagues developed. The Micropouch™ procedure is the result of 17 years of focused experience in bariatric surgery involving several thousand patients. It's an operation that differs from the traditional gastric bypass surgery.

Dana's mother was obese too and both women had serious weight-related health problems - diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis.

"When I got too tired to play with my kids, I'd had enough," Dana remembers. She talked with her mother and together they researched surgical weight loss options.

They learned about gastric bypass surgery at Harper University Hospital. After taking a battery of tests and psychological exams, they decided to do it.

"The standard sized pouch is about 30 cc or the size of a lemon," he said. "Our Micropouch™ is about 2 cc, which is about the size of a grape. As a result of that, you can't eat much at one time. You have to chew your food well and eat slowly."

Dana and her mother scheduled surgery for the same day in January 2003. By December of that year, they'd each lost more than 100 pounds. "We both feel great," Dana said. "We have more energy and our health is much better." Problems like high blood pressure and diabetes often disappear after the weight loss surgery.

"Dana is doing fantastic," Dr. Wood said. "She's kind of an ambassador for our program because she's doing all the right things. If you follow the guidelines, you'll do well."

Dr. Wood enjoys performing gastric bypass surgery because of the wonderful changes he gets to see in patients.

"Patients become very outgoing. You get to see their lifestyles change and their quality of life change," he said. "It's really overwhelming. Working with these patients is one of the most satisfying things I could do."

"My doctor and all the people at Harper were great. I'd recommend them to anyone," Dana said. "The way I was going, I was on a path of serious health problems. They gave me my life back and helped me show my daughter you don't have to be overweight."